Williams pleads his case on why he left Texans

By John McClain |
October 31, 2012
| Updated: November 1, 2012 8:41am

For some reason, Mario Williams believes Houston fans do not understand why he left the Texans and signed with Buffalo.

It's simple enough.

Because the Texans were salary-cap strapped and facing the exodus of players they wanted to keep but couldn't, general manager Rick Smith never got beyond talking parameters with Williams' agent, Ben Dogra.

The Texans couldn't have signed Williams to a new contract without ripping apart the team. If they had re-signed Williams, they wouldn't have been able to sign players like Arian Foster, Chris Myers and Duane Brown to long-term extensions.

They had to make difficult decisions with their free agents. Because Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed played well at linebacker after Williams suffered a season-ending pectoral injury, they let Williams walk.

Now Williams has his homecoming on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

"It's a decision the general manager made - opened the door and pretty much gave me a one-way exit," Williams told reporters who cover the Bills on Wednesday. "People do not realize what really happened at that point.

"The fans can only go off of what they hear everybody else say."

Buffalo was willing to make Williams the highest-paid defensive player in history. He signed a $96 million deal that could be worth $100 million with incentives. He received about $50 million in guarantees.

Anybody in his right mind would have taken that deal from the Bills. But Williams thinks Texans fans don't understand why he left.

"Everybody else looks at it like you just went into free agency and left," he said. "Obviously, there was plenty of time for things to be done, and it was not. I just wish everybody else that runs their mouth, says this and that, knew the whole story about it before making a decision about me just abandoning the fans, the team and everything else like that, because that is not my role. I am not that type of guy."

Williams didn't specify who he thought wasn't smart enough to realize the situation. Everybody knew he wanted to return. He said so in interviews. The Texans' situation was easy to understand, too.

Williams has 16 tackles and 31/2 sacks as an end for the Bills. During their open date, he underwent surgery on his left wrist. He believes the surgery will help his performance over the last nine games.

"At the end of the day, I have something extra to prove in general," Williams said. "Definitely with everything going on, it has not been the way I really wanted it - going out, making an impact and just being better to help the team win.

"It's going to be great to see old teammates and old friends. Whenever you play with somebody for so long, you bond. I have mad love for them, for each and every player and coach on that team. I hope they do the very best."